WESLEY GREGG, one of the oldest residents of Clarke County,
was born in Peoria County, Illinois, the date of his birth being April 1, 1843.
His father, Thomas Gregg, brought his family to Iowa in 1844, living in Lee
County till the fall of 1851, when he removed his family to Clarke County, and
settled in Doyle Township among the Indians and wild animals, and in his youth
our subject often visited the Indian camps. Our subject was reared on the old
homestead, his education being limited to the pioneer subscription schools held
in log cabins with puncheon floors, clapboard roofs, slab seats, huge fireplaces,
and stick-and-mud chimneys. During the late war he enlisted in the defense of
the Union, in Company D, Thirty-ninth Iowa Infantry, serving only eight months.
He was disabled while in the service, on account of which he was discharged,
and now draws a pension. He was married
September 28, 1869, to Ada O. Brown, a daughter of Chester Brown who is
deceased. They have four children living – Anna O., Frances E., Thomas K. and
Cyrus S. Four of their children are deceased.
Mr. Gregg followed farming till the fall of 1884, when he came to
Hopeville, where he has since made his home. Mr. Gregg has served as justice of
the peace about five years, beside holding other offices of trust and
responsibility. He was elected assessor but declined to serve. He is a member
of the Grand Army of the Republic. His wife and daughter, Anna O., are members
of the United Brethren church.
SOURCE: Biographical and Historical Record of Clarke
County, Iowa, Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1886 p. 246
